Because You Were There
by HeroOfTheCastleOfMarble
Summary: Remus remembers the Marauders, and how special they were, after Sirius' death. Songfic to You Were There Please Read and Review :First Songfic:


A/N: Yes I know I need to work on the next chapter of Wind and Waves, but this has been in my head for awhile, so I finally decided to write it. It's a songfic about Remus remebering the Maruaders after Sirius' death, and it's to the song "You Were There" (by Babyface I believe) from the movie Simeon Birch (great tear-jerker movie). So the words in **Bold** are the song and the words in _Italics_ are the memories (but you probably would've figured that out on your own :)).

Disclaimer: I don't own the song, or the characters :)

Enjoy

* * *

Because You Were There

**Time passes the world changes**

**I'm still the same old kid**

Remus couldn't get over it. The fact that Sirius wasn't loudly coming into the living room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, offering Remus a concoction that he, Sirius, had created moments before. The fact that Sirius wasn't cracking jokes about how greasy Snape's hair looked in the Order meeting moments before. The fact that they weren't reminiscing, or that the horrible picture of Sirius' deranged mother wasn't shouting at Sirius. Well that, Remus decided, he didn't particularly miss, but certainly not at this price. Certainly not at the price of Sirius never coming back, the price of Sirius being….dead.

**And your jokes still bring me laughter**

**As if you still were here**

Sirius had once joked that he wouldn't want to be dead, because he reasoned that it would be rather dull, that he'd get bored of it after awhile. Remus swallowed hard. Dead…it was like a dark silence draped over the world, something that didn't fit Sirius at all, no more than it fit James, who had entered it so many years before. The light laughter that had always come when Sirius was around was gone. The feeling that if a man locked into his own house of horrors could laugh and joke, couldn't a old werewolf do it also? Didn't that mean that it would work out? That it had too? Except now…now it couldn't.

**And it hurts when I smile**

**Cause my heart still remembers **

**When you were around**

A shiver racked Remus' body as he fought to control himself. It had been 12 hours, 12 of the worst hours in Remus' entire existence. The pain of his first transformation didn't even begin to compare to the pain that was coursing through him now. The feeling of loneliness before the Marauders, didn't, couldn't, compare to the absolute black loneliness now. Remus put his head in his hands, fighting the wave of emotion that had been threatening to break his carefully built barricades. He had refused to cry, refused to even as he had spoken that horrible phrase to Harry hours ago.  
_"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing….He's gone."_

It was almost too painful to remember, to feel the bitter taste of those words on his lips…like poison.

"Remus?" A cautious voice asked nearby.

Remus glanced up, startled as he met the eyes of Bill Weasley. "Remus, are you…okay?" The last word was faint, as though Bill realized the moment he said it how fake it sounded.

Remus opened his mouth, prepared to say what he had said to every other wizard or witch that had asked him that question the past couple hours. But for some reason, the traditional "I'm fine" refused to come. Instead, Remus merely closed his mouth and looked away.

Bill seemed content to let the matter drift away. "Tonks is better, I just left her at St. Mungo's. Seems to be healing up nicely. Wants to get out of there…never liked being cooped up." Bill paused.

**Cause you were there**

**When no one was**

Remus nodded. "Most of the Black's didn't." He muttered. "Just something about them, they always had to be out there, running around…making their life and yours worth…something." Remus let out a soft chuckle. "James used to say that they were all a bit tweaked in the head." Remus shook himself again and stood up. "I suppose I'll get to bed…long day…." He muttered to Bill.

"Sure…sure okay." Bill stuttered. Remus walked past him, as he reached the stairs Bill stopped him again. "Remus?"

Remus froze and looked at the young Weasley. "Yes?" He managed to reply.

Bill shook his head, smiling nervously. "Never mind. Good night, Remus."

Remus nodded and managed to stop himself from scrambling up the stairs and crawling like a wounded dog to his room. He slowly walked through the upper hallway, past each of the doors, as the floor creaked beneath his feet. His room was at the end of the hall, but he stopped short at another door. Slowly he turned and spotted the dark oaken door, so familiar. Without realizing it, Remus let his long fingers run down the side of the door, until they rested on the handle. Don't be unlocked, a part of him wished. Give me a reason to not go in there.

But the handle fell beneath the weight of his hand, the door swinging open to allow Remus to see the full of Sirius' room.

It was messy, like their dorm had been, like any place Sirius had ever lived in had been. Remus was the neat one, Sirius was the messy one, James was the one in between, which meant if it was important to him, like Quidditch magazines, it was filed neatly, and Peter…well Peter was the rat.

Blankets lay flung around the room, scraps of paper, and half-opened newspapers piled up under the window, and stuck out from under the dresser. Buckbeak, who was curled up in one corner, calmly lifted his head from beneath his wing, and squawked a welcome. Bandages were around him, left over from before they'd left, before Sirius had…

Remus sat down hard on the edge of the bed. It was cold, and the sheets were rough. "It's not fair." He muttered. "Not to Harry, not to Buckbeak…and certainly not to me." He shook his head, but paused as a photo caught his gaze. It was faded, black and white, in a wooden frame on the bedside table. The only thing that looked as though it hadn't ever been in any bad condition, as the sheets and other papers in the room implied. With shaking hands Remus picked up the picture and stared.

**Just when I thought nobody cared**

**You showed me love**

Four boys waved back at him, all sixteen, during the summer before their 7th Year at Hogwarts. The one farthest to the right was too familiar a face for Remus to forget, if he'd looked in the mirror he would've managed to hopefully find a trace of that 16 year old self in the older man's body he now wore. Light hair and thin features, his gray eyes were smiling. Remus smiled to himself, it was strange to see how he'd changed from 11, a scared boy who wallowed in the fact that he had a monster inside of him, and that he could never, ever make any real friends. How wrong he had been.

_"Hey, anyone sitting here?" A good-natured voice broke into Remus' thoughts. He glanced up from the book to find a young boy with patient hazel eyes leaning in the doorway. His hair was as messy as a crow's nest, and as black as the feathers of the said bird. Remus looked around the rest of the compartment, he was alone, nothing except for his books sitting beside him. No one wanted to sit with someone that looked like they'd never eaten, or had any new clothes._

_"Um…no." Remus replied uneasily._

_"Great. Everywhere else is either full or smells of Slytherins. James Potter, nice to meet you. What's your name? I love Quidditch, and pranks too of course. What's your favorite team? Do ya play? What house do you want to be in? I'm gonna be in Gryffindor, my whole family has been, so it's likely I will be as well. Well, speak up. Don't you talk?"_

_Remus stared at the new boy, James Potter he'd called himself. He'd never heard anyone talk that fast. "My name's Remus Lupin." James Potter grabbed his hand and shook it hard, as Remus fought to not fall off the bench. _

_"Pleased to meet you mate. You know what house you'll be in?"_

_Remus cocked an eye at his new friend, could he call him that yet, he wondered. "You can't possibly know what house you're going to be in before you get to Hogwarts."_

_"Sure you can. Tends to go down the line, if you're entire line of ancestors was in Hufflepuff, it's more likely than not that you'll be in Hufflepuff. Of course there's always exceptions to the rules…."_

The exception to the rule was standing next to 16-year old Remus, lovely black hair falling roguishly across his brow, his winning smile, that caused all the girls in the school to swoon over him, was spread across his lips. Dark eyes and white teeth flashing in humor, face so bright. Happy. Something Sirius hadn't been in a long time. Unless he was seated with Harry, or Remus reminiscing.

**Cause you were my friend**

**You always told me**

_"Black, Sirius." The deputy headmistress bellowed. Remus Lupin watched as a young, dark-haired boy walked up to the stool and put on the worn hat. Whispers began to emerge from the hall_

_"Blacks always get into Slytherin. Just look at his cousin, Bellatrix."_

_"Wonder why the hat's taking so long. He's a Black, everyone knows where he's going."_

_Remus glanced at James, who was intently watching the Black boy intently. Up until the instant when the hat shouted, "GRIFFYNDOR!" and the bewildered Black pulled off the hat and stumbled to an empty seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. Hardly anyone clapped at the announcement, but Remus caught James slowly beginning to smile, he leaned over to whisper to Remus. "When you get sorted, wait for me."_

_Remus blinked at him. James had it in his mind that Remus would also be in Gryffindor, Remus had spent most of the train ride arguing the point. "Wait where?" _

_"By the Black." James managed to whisper before Remus' name was called._

_Sure enough he was put in Gryffindor. Remus walked over to his table, glancing back to see James starting toward the Sorting Hat, but not before nodding toward the end of the table._

_Remus glanced at the Black boy who was staring at the table top, determined to look nowhere but the table. Remus took a breath and sat down near him. The boy glanced up and stared. And stared. Remus shifted uncomfortably. "Hi." He managed to say, as the boy continued to stare at him._

_Thankfully, James had been right in saying he would be in Gryffindor. Or perhaps he had simply told the hat where he wanted, no needed, to be placed. Whatever the reason, the hat shouted Gryffindor barely moments after Remus sat down, and James Potter bounded up to sit in between Black and Remus._

_"Hello." He looked at Remus. "I told you we'd both be in Gryffindor."_

_"Well if you're so damn smart tell me why I'm in it. That ruddy hat can't even seem to do that!" It was the first words Remus would ever hear Sirius say, and it would surprise him later that they were so devoid of amusement and glee._

_James got a serious look on his face. "'Course I can tell you. Because you're not like those Slytherin cousins of yours, you're better than all those dark arts worshipers, and one day you're going to show everyone just how brave, and how true you really are. That's why you're in Gryffindor." James finished proudly. The Black boy gaped at him, and Remus poked James in the shoulder. _

_"Then why am I in Gryffindor? I don't have Slytherin blood in me, and I'm sure not brave." Remus added._

_James smiled at him. "You're here so that you won't be alone." _

_"And why are you here, smarty?" Black asked, this time a hint of teasing in his voice, his eyes just barely beginning to brighten._

_James smiled even wider. "So we'll be a complete band of misfit friends." He said._

_The Black looked him over, then smiled, and put out his hand. "Sirius Black."_

_James grinned and shook the hand. "James Potter."_

_Remus smiled and grasped their hands in one of his. "Remus Lupin." _

**And I am still here**

**Because you were there**

_"Remus?" _

_Remus pushed open the curtain to his bed to see Sirius there. "You okay mate?" his dark-haired friend asked._

_Remus thought it over. Was he okay? The full moon barely days away, his first full moon at Hogwarts. In a way he was terrified of the transformation, but also of the fact that he would have to lie to his friends, lie to them about why he was disappearing for a few days, and then pray they'd believe him. Was he really okay?  
"Yeah, sure…I'm fine." Remus replied._

_Sirius cocked an eye and pulled himself up in the bed. "You, my friend, are a terrible liar." He told Remus smoothly. "Worse than Peter even." Peter, the small boy who had begun following them around just after the start of term. Hoping that he might be able to escape the bullying he was sure to receive if he stayed close to the quickly recognized hunks of the first years, mainly being James and Sirius, who, though he'd had a rough initial start, was easily winning over the girl population. James, being who he was, had quickly taken the shivering boy under his wing. _

_"I'm not lying."_

_"And you're getting worse by the minute. Don't trust me or something?" Sirius asked._

_"I trust you." Remus said quickly, and whole-heartedly._

_Sirius smiled. "Finally something that sounds truthful."_

_Remus fought a pout. "Don't you trust me?" It surprised him how harsh the words came out._

_Sirius blinked. "Of course I trust you. You and James above everyone else. Oh and Peter I suppose too." Sirius added, smiling. "Are you sure-"_

_"I'm fine." Remus assured him. "It's just that…my mother's sick, so I might be going to see her soon…check on her and everything." Remus added._

_Sirius studied him, before sighing. "Well if you do end up going to see her, give her my regards."_

_"Sure, Sirius." Sirius started for the door, but paused and glanced back at Remus._

_"Hey Remus? Just so you know…I'm here if you want to talk. I'm no good at advice, but I can listen. Heck I listen to my mom yelling at me all the time, anyway." Sirius added, smiling lightly._

_Remus nodded, his appreciation evident on his face. "Thanks Sirius…one day I may take you up on that." _

Remus ran his finger over the next boy in the picture. His hair dark and messy, his hazel eyes dancing with the knowledge of some prank yet to be played. He was as tall as Sirius, with a smile that, like Sirius, made most of the girl's swoon, except of course, for the fire-headed beauty James always had his eye on. Prongs, James Potter, the ring-leader, the one who'd brought them together, who'd figured it all out before Peter or Sirius. Smart James, whose idea it had been to become Animagus in the first place.

**So precious small treasures**

**A time when truth was innocent**

_"Remus, we need to talk." It was James, closing the door behind him, Sirius, and Peter. Remus turned on his bed and his stomach dropped. The look on their faces was stony, and he had an odd feeling he knew what they would say._

_"Why didn't you tell us?" Sirius asked plainly, his eyes weren't dancing with mirth, instead seemed to be in pain, as though he had been duped. Remus, who felt like his heart was being ripped out, wished he could die on the spot._

_"Didn't tell you-"_

_"That you were a werewolf." James finished, crossing his arms. "Didn't you trust us?"_

_Remus nodded slowly, his heart up in his throat. "But I didn't trust you to not act like a normal person would when they found out they were sharing a room….sharing a room with a…monster."_

_Sirius snorted and came up to him, swatting him on the shoulder. "Remus look at me. Hey look!" He barked and Remus rose his head. Sirius slapped Remus' chest. "There's no monster in there Remus. There could never be a monster in you of all people."_

_"Sirius is right." James came up to them. "You think you would've been put into Gryffindor, 'where dwell the brave at heart' if you were a monster?"_

_"You got that from the sorting hat." Peter muttered coming over. _

_"So?" James challenged. "He was around when the founders were. He knows who belongs where. And you don't belong in any house but Gryffindor, especially because you are not a monster." James looked pointedly at Remus._

_"I turn into one once a month." Remus countered, not thinking that his friends really grasped the situation. If they did they'd want him out, wouldn't they? "I'm a danger…I should-"_

_"What leave? Why?" Peter asked._

_"Well you wouldn't want….I can see you're angry."_

_"We're not angry my fuzzy friend." Sirius said. "Just a tad…hurt you didn't tell us."_

_"Can you blame me?" Remus asked half-heartedly._

_James chuckled. "Maybe not. Come on Remus, stop sulking. The truth is in the open. And we're better for it. Besides, now you don't have to lie to us."_

_"I still have to lie to everyone else." Remus muttered, then looked up at his friends. "You can't tell anyone!" Remus pleaded with them. "If anyone else found out-"_

_"Remus, Remus." James sighed. "You're secret"-he placed a hand on his chest and Peter and Sirius followed-"Will always be safe with the Marauders."_

_Remus cocked an eye. "The…Marauders?"_

_James chuckled. "Evans called me it after I turned her hair green yesterday, you know to match her eyes. Personally, I like the name."_

And then, the last boy in the picture, small with mousy hair, whose pointed nose unconsciously twitched as he grinned at whoever had taken the picture. Wormtail, Peter Pettigrew. With James' arm around his shoulders, smiling, proud that he was a Marauder. It half surprised Remus that Sirius hadn't cut Peter out the picture. But maybe the memories made it impossible. Maybe Sirius couldn't damage the picture, even to remove a rat. Remus himself couldn't bring himself to hate the small boy waving at him, at least not at that moment. Later…when dawn finally came he would be able to. But for now, Peter looked like any normal 16 year old with his friends.

**True friendship was all we were after**

**A place where kids could still be kids**

_"I'll kill you Potter!" Lily Evans yelled, as she and her friends tried to escape the water balloon barrage that came from the air. James snickered from his hiding spot on the steps leading up to the boys dormitories._

_Sirius and Peter laughed loudly. Remus shook his head, but couldn't help smiling slightly as Melody Crumpet, a 6th year prefect known for giving the Marauders detention for the slightest thing, was hit square in the face with another balloon._

_"I may not be as good at Charms as Evans, but I think I did rather nice with this one, eh fellas?" James chuckled. _

_Remus smiled at him. "You? I'm the one who charmed the balloons."_

_"But we filled 'em with water." Peter reminded him gleefully, proud he had played his part in the prank. Sirius slapped him generously on the shoulder, then suddenly froze. "Uh, James if I were you I'd run."_

_"Why?" James looked to see Lily Evans stalking up the steps towards them, water dripping from her every limb. "Damn." James muttered, scrambling away, quickly followed by the rest of the Marauders, as Lily began working her own charms on the water-filled balloons._

**And it hurts**

**But I'm glad**

_"I've got it!!" James ran into the room, nearly tackling Remus as he pounced on the bed._

_"What have you got?" Remus managed to ask._

_Sirius bounced over. "Lily Evans' note of undying love to you?"_

_"Cheese?" Peter asked, also coming over._

_James rolled his eyes. "No." He told Sirius. "And definitely not." He added to Peter. James looked at Remus. "I figured out a way to help Moony with his…furry little problem." Remus scowled slightly at the nick-name, having not quite gotten used to it yet._

_"But there's no cure!" Peter squeaked, and Sirius promptly pushed him off the bed._

_"I know that!" James said, as Peter crawled back up on the bed. "And I also know that Moony claims the greatest times of his life are when he's hanging out with us!"_

_Remus blushed. "I didn't say-"_

_"You should get a lock for your journal, mate. You know James is nosy." Sirius winked and Remus balked at him._

_"Anyway." James broke in. "There's the problem that we can't stay with Remus as humans since-"_

_"Since werewolves are only a danger to humans." Remus finished, exasperated. Did James think he, of all people, didn't know that?_

_James grinned. "Exactly. They're only a danger to humans, not animals." _

_Sirius stared at him. "What are you suggesting? That we turn ourselves into animals once a month?"_

_James nodded. "Not just any animals though." He opened a book that Remus hadn't noticed had been there before. It took him a moment to get over his shock of James having a textbook, but then he focused on the pictures, then on the heading: **Animagus**._

_"This way." James said, as all mouths dropped. "We can still be the Marauders every night of the month."_

**Cause at least I was blessed **

**To have you as my friend**

_"Are you sure it's supposed to be this painful?" Peter asked James, twitching all over._

_James glanced at the book. "It says it could result in some pain, yeah."_

_Remus stared at his friends. They shouldn't have been doing this. They shouldn't have been risking their very lives trying to become something for him. Sirius had turned his face away, but Peter was still quite visible, twitching every now and then._

_"Okay, now think about your bones…" James voice said, as though fighting something inside of himself._

_Remus averted his eyes to the cauldron. The gooey green liquid that was making his friends writhe in pain. Was this what he looked like once a month? Remus wondered unconsciously._

_There was a sound and Remus looked up, and immediately fell backwards in surprise. Two animals, no three, stood in front of him, looking themselves up and down. A large black dog, a brilliant light colored stag, and a gray rat that was running around, as though trying to get a good look at himself._

_"You did it." Remus breathed as the stag, James, came and nudged him, and the dog, Sirius, licked his hand. "I can't believe you did it."_

**Cause you were there**

**When no one was**

_Remus shifted uncomfortably. The full moon was moments from rising. Remus shivered, alone in the Shrieking Shack again. No not alone, not this time. Remus looked over his shoulder and saw the stag, the dog, and the rat watching him. "Are you all sure you want to-" He didn't finish before the stag nodded. Remus sighed, and looked at the white orb peaked over the horizon. He felt his bones splinter into new shapes, his back arch, his snout and claws come into existence. Remus howled with pain, as he hit the floor on all fours. _

_A howl greeted his and the werewolf turned, his tender nose reading the three animals. The dog took a step foreword, the rat leapt on the shoulders of the stag, and the stag cocked his eye. The werewolf growled and rose his paw to bat the dog away. But before he could the dog licked his cheek and the werewolf's eyes focused more readily. The monster moved inside the werewolf to let Remus Lupin look out for once. "Sirius." Remus thought. The dog grinned in a most unanimal-like fashion and tackled the werewolf. The stag started forward, only to stop, realizing that the monster and the dog where romping playfully._

**Just when I thought nobody cared**

**You showed me love**

_Remus whimpered slightly, looking at his bloody hand. James sat down hard beside him, the full moon having ended. A teacher would be coming soon for him, but James, Sirius, and Peter hadn't left yet. The scratches adorned the four boys arms, Peter least of all, mainly because he didn't have to work on keeping a werewolf in check. _

_Sirius touched his cheek, a deep cut running across it. "How are we going to explain this?" He asked. _

_James shrugged. "We got too close to the Whomping Willow, fooling around yesterday. Madam Pomfrey will tut at us but she won't question. She believed us after that scuffle with the Slytherins, remember we told her we fell down the steps."_

_"Almost believable when Peter told it." Sirius snickered._

_"Hey!" Peter yelped. James laughed._

_Remus watched him, then glanced down at his cut up arm, touching it lightly and wincing. A scrap of cloth came from nowhere and wrapped up the hand. Remus glanced up and saw Sirius grinning. "You okay, Moony?"_

_Remus nodded. "Yeah…thanks Padfoot." _

_Sirius smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Anytime."_

**Cause you were my friend**

**You always told me**

_"Just ignore Snape, Moony. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You're better than he is." James told Remus._

_Remus shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyway. Snape'll never learn…no matter how many times you curse him James he's not going to stop making fun of my rag-tag clothes, or stop calling Lily a…well you know."_

_James gritted his teeth. "Well I certainly don't believe that. I also don't believe I have another detention, which means I'm going to have cancel my date with Cecey Hodgins."_

_"Don't worry, Prongs." Peter said smiling what he thought was a comforting smile, twitching his nose back and forth._

_Remus glanced at Sirius and found his friend steadily watching Snape's departing figure through half opened eyes. "Sirius? You okay?"_

_Sirius shook his head. "You're right, Moony. Snape isn't going to change. He's still going to treat people like dirt…isn't he?"_

_Remus threw his arm around Sirius. "Like Wormtail said, Padfoot. Don't worry about it, it doesn't bother me anymore."_

_Sirius smirked at him. "Horrible liar." He mumbled. "But an all right friend I must say."_

_Remus shrugged, getting a mock serious look on his face. "I have my flaws." Sirius burst out into bark laughter._

**And I am still here**

**Because you were there**

_"He tried to get Snape killed." Remus stared at James from his own hospital bed. James lay on his, staring at the ceiling._

_"What?"_

_"He told him how to get into the Whomping Willow. Idiot. Thought it was making everything better…if Snape wasn't here no one would make fun of you, or Lily, or anyone. Fool, you can't change the world by killing someone, even someone you hate." James mumbled._

_"But how did you-"_

_"Peter told me, and I went after Snape."_

_"I didn't.."_

_"You didn't bite me. The Whomping Willow just had a couple lucky hits is all."_

_"And Snape?"_

_"He's just scared. Probably wet his pants after seeing you." James went on, still not looking at Remus._

_"He saw me?"_

_"Dumbledore told him not to tell anyone…least that's what I heard from Peter. Sirius got suspended…Peter's just whimpering up in the dorm. _

_"Snape won't ever look at me the same way again." Remus muttered. "Not with knowing that I'm a-"_

_"If you say monster I'll get out of this hospital bed and pummel you myself." James looked at him. "You, are not a monster. And neither is Sirius, for all the lack of brains he has, he's still not a monster. He just hates….it doesn't matter Moony. Whatever happened, whatever does happen. You are not what anyone says you are, except a good friend."_

_Remus was silent. "Prongs?"_

_"What?" James asked._

_Remus met his eyes. "Thank you…thank you for saving Snape…and me."_

_James smiled._

**You're my best friend**

**There are no accidents**

_"Do you hate me?" It was in a quiet voice that Sirius asked it. Peter and James were gone, Peter tagging after the leader, and James having left because he told Sirius he wasn't going to forgive him until Remus and Sirius talked, until Remus forgave him. It, after all, was Remus Sirius had hurt, not James._

_Remus watched his friend. "I could never hate you…but being pissed at you is absolutely no problem." His voice was hard, like iron._

_Sirius swallowed and dropped his gaze to the floor. "I thought it would make things better…I didn't mean-"_

_"Don't say it was an accident…it wasn't. You meant to get Snape killed…and you were going to use me…use the werewolf to do it." Remus interrupted._

_"I thought it would help…he wouldn't be sneaking around, getting his greasy nose into your business."_

_"But now he knows. It doesn't matter anymore, Sirius, he knows! And if he wanted he could tell."_

_"He won't." Sirius said sternly. "Dumbledore won't let him._

_Remus shook his head. "After Hogwarts, Dumbledore won't be able to do anything. What is he going to do, erase Snape's memory?"_

_Sirius swallowed. "I'm….sorry Remus….if I could turn back time I would….if I could change….but I can't…so….I'm sorry." Sirius looked up and his watery eyes met Remus. "You're not the monster, Remus. If anyone is it's me. I'm so…sorry." _

**God has a plan for everyone**

**And he brought you in my life to show me**

**What a good friendship was**

_"You're just a filthy half-breed." Snape spat at Remus. Remus glared and backed up until he felt the rail of the stairs meet his back. He knew he should've gone back to Gryffindor Tower with James and Peter hours ago. He didn't know where Sirius was, hadn't seen him for the past couple days. Instead of following James back, Remus had stayed in the Library. Now he was cornered by three Slytherins, one of them being the very boy whom he'd almost killed. He'd hardly ever gotten picked on, he was a Marauder after all. But Snape looked beside himself._

_"Bugger off Snape." Remus said, trying to shove past him. Snape shot his wand at Remus' bag, which split open. Remus looked at the contents on the ground, feeling anger roaming in his stomach. "What's your problem?" Remus asked hotly, but he already knew the answer._

_"You…you and your wanna-be friends, the Marauders. Pile of scum. Not fit to-" His voice broke off as someone rushed up near Remus, whirled, and planted a punch right in the middle of Snape's face. Blood splattered and Snape fell to the floor, crying and holding his nose. Remus whipped out his wand, ready to spell anyone who tried anything. But the rest of the Slytherins went off running, Snape stumbling yelling obscenities behind him. Remus turned and found Sirius picking up the scattered supplies. Sirius stood up and handed them over. "Are you okay?" He asked._

_Remus swallowed. "Yeah…should've seen it coming. Snape's been bitter since…"_

_"Since I tried to get him killed." Sirius nodded. He looked up. "You're still angry at me." He muttered._

_Remus looked at him curiously. "If you thought that, then why did you help?"_

_Sirius looked at him as if it were obvious. "Fight or not we're still the Marauders, right? We're still friends…still brothers…?"_

_Remus bit his lip. "Do brothers get in fights like this?" He asked._

_Sirius snorted. "All the time, you should've seen the fights me and my brother got into before I ran off."_

_"And they forgive each other?"_

_"I never forgave my brother, I doubt he forgave me either." Sirius admitted. "But, he never really was my brother, not like you and James are."_

_Remus watched him, before reluctantly smiling. "I still haven't totally forgiven you." He reminded his friend. "But if you help me lug all this stuff back to the Tower, I might be able to."_

_Sirius grinned. "My pleasure, Moony."_

**Cause you were there**

**When no one was**

**Just when I thought nobody cared**

**You showed me love**

_Remus shook his head, staring out the window. The next day they would graduate. The next day they would leave Hogwarts, leave his sanctuary, forever. He heard and noise and saw a sleepy James and Sirius come up to him._

_"Moony, what are you doing up?" James asked as Sirius yawned loudly._

_"Just thinking."_

_"Anyone ever tell you that you think too much?" Sirius asked._

_"Only you, Padfoot."_

_Sirius shrugged. "Just making sure."_

_"What are you thinking about?" James asked._

_Remus shrugged. "How after tomorrow it'll all be over…all this will be done. No more pranks, no more Hogwarts. No more Marauders."_

_"We'll always be the Marauders, Moony." James replied gruffly._

_"Yeah, even death can't part us." Sirius added energetically._

_Remus shook his head. "It'll be different." He warned. _

_Sirius snorted. "Well of course. We'll be grown, refined members of society."_

_"Ha, you refined Padfoot?" James laughed, Remus chuckled. _

_"Hey I'm not finished." Sirius scowled. "What I was going to say was, of course we're going to be different, we'll be older and all. But we'll still be the same at heart. We'll still be brothers, no matter what."_

_"No matter if we're poor lonely old men that turn into monsters once a month." Remus added._

_"No matter if we're mass murderers." Sirius agreed._

_"Even if we're dead." James finished. "We'll be friends in this life, and whoever goes first will wait for the rest in the next life, and we'll be friends there too." He put his arm around Remus, then Sirius. "The Marauders can't die." He added gleefully. _

_Remus put his arm around James, as did Sirius. They truly were three brothers._

**Cause you were my friend**

Remus smiled a watery smile as the four boys waved at him, laughing to themselves. A tear finally freed itself and rolled down Remus' cheek. He didn't even bother to wipe it away, even allowed another to roll down the other cheek. Swallowing he continued to smile. The best years of his life, his best friends, his brothers. If hadn't been for them he wouldn't be here now. He couldn't have lasted even through Hogwarts. If hadn't been for them, then he didn't think he would've remained sane. If hadn't been for James picking his compartment on the train, telling him that he would be in the house of the brave, the chivalrous, Remus might've found himself lost in another house. And if it hadn't been for Sirius, Remus wouldn't have been able to see life as colorful as he had, even when he had almost lost that friend to a stupid decision. He owed everything to them, the wonderful years of his life, why he hadn't become a dark creature, why the monster couldn't take over him except when he allowed it to. They had made him more than anything a poor 11 year old, werewolf bitten, scared boy could've ever dreamed.

**You always told me**

Remus smiled. James was right, the Marauders wouldn't, couldn't die. James had been waiting for them to join him, and now Sirius was waiting for Remus. Waiting until Remus finished the war, helped Harry succeed anyway he could. After he'd lived his life like Sirius always had, he'd join them, and they'd be the Marauders again.

Remus ran his hand over the frame pausing as he noticed an engraving on the bottom. He leaned in and read in fancy printed letters: _Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail_

**And I am still here**

_The Marauders._

**Because you were there

* * *

**

Okay so what did you think? I'm not sure if that's how a songfic is supposed to be written, or if there's a specific format but whatever. I hope you liked it, forgive me if there was some OOCness. :) Well, please review :)


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